Homemade ice cream is their passion

Every Thursday through Saturday, Keith and Bev Schloneger, who make homemade ice cream, can be found at Sol’s in Berlin and the Heritage Center at Kidron.They are at the Dover Farmers' Market every Wednesday. They also sell their ice cream at special events at Zoar, the Algonquin Mill Festival at Carrollton, Hale Farm and Village and at the Atwood Fall Festival, which is their largest festival and moneymaker.

When Keith and Bev Schloneger began selling ice cream 17 years ago, they had one goal in mind.

“Our intent was to make the best true ‘homemade’ ice cream, made on the spot or close by, and to bring back memories of your own homemade ice cream,” Keith said.

It would appear that goal has been accomplished.

Each year, when the first weekend of March arrives, Keith and Bev pack up their trailer and begin another season of traveling around Ohio selling their old-fashioned, homemade ice cream.

Every Thursday through Saturday, they can be found at Sol’s in Berlin and the Heritage Center at Kidron. They are at the Dover Farmers' Market every Wednesday. They also sell their ice cream at special events at Zoar, the Algonquin Mill Festival at Carrollton, Hale Farm and Village and at the Atwood Fall Festival, which is their largest festival and moneymaker.

Although the summer went fast, Keith said, there are bigger events coming in the fall at which folks eat ice cream.

“I enjoy meeting the people,” Bev said.

Vanilla ice cream is their most-requested flavor. In addition to vanilla, flavors that are always available are chocolate, Reese’s Cup, coconut, butter pecan and usually black cherry. They also offer a nondairy chocolate ice cream and agave vanilla made from agave nectar. The ice cream is served in cones or bowls.

When fresh fruit is in season, such as peaches, strawberries or raspberries, ice cream is made using those fruits. Seasonal favorites are blackberry, pumpkin pecan and black walnut.

They also offer root-beer floats.

Keith said he likes to watch people’s expressions as they taste the ice cream.

Bev said how the ice cream stays so cold or so sharp is a mystery. She said she makes the mixes from scratch, and said that at first, the ice cream’s texture is smooth, but the next day, the texture is different.

When making their ice cream, Keith and Bev use 35 to 40 gallons of milk, sugar and flavoring per batch. They said the festival they are attending determines how much milk is purchased.

On Oct. 19, Keith and Bev will be at the Red Beet Festival at Kidron, an event originated five years ago by Keith, who wanted to hold a contest for the largest beet grown. Naturally, their ice cream menu will include red beet ice cream.

“We get mixed reactions when people try red beet ice cream,” said Keith. “Some like it, while others don’t. Still others have no opinion.”

When it comes to flavors, red beet is not the only unique flavor Keith and Bev have created. They often experiment with flavors in honor of the festivals they attend, such as dandelion in honor of the annual Dandelion May Fest sponsored by Breitenbach Wine Cellars in Dover. Only the dandelion blossom is used in the ice cream.

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At the Zoar festivals, visitors can try pistachio nasturtium ice cream made from the flower. The pistachio nasturtium ice cream began when they dumped a bunch of flowers and pistachios into the mix, and afterward, they were asked to continue making the recipe.

Keith admitted that the flavor is not the most popular, but definitely is the most unusual.

Before coming to this area, the Schlonegers resided in Wisconsin on a 23-acre dairy farm. Keith was a farmer and logger. They eventually decided to move closer to family and rented a dairy farm in Kidron. They reside near Mount Eaton.

“I needed something to do,” said Keith. “In 1997, Tillman and Loren Neuenschwander of Kidron offered their equipment to me. I purchased it. The Neuenschwanders had been making ice cream and developing the route since the 1960s. We are still using the White Mountain ice cream freezer they used in the trailer.”

The ice cream is made on a stationary 1927 John Deere engine that powers the mixer. Keith said the engine most likely originally was used to pump water from wells.

During the busiest time of the summer, the Schlonegers can work up to 80 hours a week. From late November until March, the ice cream trailer is idle except for a few seasonal events.

The ice cream business is family-oriented. Their youngest son, Zachary, mans the ice cream stand at Sol’s in Berlin. They have a son Isaiah who resides in Boston and a daughter, Belita Stout, of Middle Fort, Ohio, and several grandchildren.

“We sell lots of ice cream at festivals and other places,” said Keith. “People just seem to enjoy the taste of homemade ice cream.”